fence Archives | Diana's Designs Austin

Garden Bloggers Fling cottage-style garden of Casa Mariposa

Long, hot days and late nights aside, the 2017 Garden Blo ggers Fling, held two weekends ago in the Northern Virginia/DC area, had it all. Surrounded by friends old and new, we toured botanical gardens, private gardens and the many gardens along the National Mall in D.C.

The Fling team did a fabulous job of hosting and things ran like clockwork. Our chief organizer and hostess writes a garden blog at Casa Mariposa. We were all excited to see her garden in person.

This quaint arbor and gate mark the entrance to the back garden.

The back garden was overflowing with a rainbow of blooms .

The back was a pollinator’s paradise,

Sweet birdhouses dotted the garden.

A collection of pots and garden art lined the back steps into the house.

A dry creek helps with drainage and provides a hardscape contrast to the delicate flowers.

The shady parts of the garden are brightened by variegated plants.

Bloggers, bloggers everywhere!

I may have to steal this clever idea. Since dogs always want to run the fence line, we need to work with them, not against them! A cleverly concealed little fence gives the dogs room to run to their hearts’ content without tearing through the beds.

I loved all of the complimentary and contrasting colors in her garden. I think this combination was my favorite. Opposites really do attract!

Stayed tuned for many more posts about the beautiful Fling gardens.

By Diana C. Kirby|2017-11-29T23:26:53-06:00July 9th, 2017|bloggers, cone flower, Coneflower, cut flowers, cutting garden, dogs, fence, Fling, lilies, shade, Sharing Nature's Garden|2 Comments

Wildflower Center Gardens on Tour 2011 — A Hill Country Paradise

Armed with camera and my blogging buddies Pam of Digging and Robin of Getting Grounded, I ventured out Saturday to explore the gardens on the 2011 Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center Gardens on Tour.

Some as different as night and day, each garden offered a different perspective and radiated a unique feel to visitors who came to experience it.

This garden was off of Bee Cave Road and its owner, Tait Moring, is a landscape architect.

The property itself was stunning. 17 acres – mostly undeveloped, but on a Hill Country hillside with amazing views. Blooming just in time to put on a show for us, this Agave greeted us as we entered into this Texas-style paradise behind a very tall cedar fence.
You can see the scale of the fence and the entry as people come into the property.
There were several creative fences and gates leading into different areas of the garden – each with it’s own unique appeal.
Several large ceramic pots provided specimen plant focal points for the garden.

Rockwork throughout the landscape brought in a Hill Country rustic element. Behind the rock wall is a Pittosporum tree that fascinated us with its structural beauty.
Interesting artwork and statuary dotted the gardens with whimsy and focal points.
Just off the back deck, a tall cedar fence hides a great outdoor shower complete with local boulders to perch on as you cool of on a hot day.
Up the stairs you can see the back of the shower against the house.
The deck included a interesting array of xeric plants and attractive pots.

A collector, much of the rock work includes special items Tait has gathered over the years.
Wouldn’t you love to have a vegetable garden like this? These beautiful rock pottagers were new additions to the garden last winter.
Another lovely walkway combining native rock and rough cedar.
This simple little water feature was so beautiful and made a lovely little sound in the peace of the garden.

This was my favorite garden on the tour. I took dozens more photos, but can only post so many. It is a lovely hideaway that is a testament to an owner with an absolute love of gardening and an amazing talent.

By Diana C. Kirby|2017-11-29T23:27:24-06:00May 8th, 2011|arbor, Blog, cedar fence, fence, garden tour, Garden Tours 2011, pittosporum, pottager, Sharing Nature's Garden, shower, water feature|0 Comments

Searching for garden delights…

This is a breath-taking spring display.

I love the combination of lavender and coral. This Crossvine is intertwined with the Wisteria as they meet by the corner of the fence.

Sadly, I don’t get to see this view.

I was admiring the Crossvine this week, and bemoaning the fact that the freeze had taken my Wisteria. But wait, isn’t that one solitary Wisteria bud I see?

Hmmmm–I see a blur of lavender through the crack in the wooden fence. Hmmmm…something is fishy here.

I trek out of the back yard and into the wild area outside of out fence (which no one can see, by the way).

What did I find? This. This amazing display of color and texture and wild beauty growing with abandon outside of my watchful eyes!
Short view as I got closer.
And what I see from the front corner of the fence if I walk off the property.
This is my view from the house and inside the back fence. It’s quite lovely, the Crossvine all by itself. And most of it is high — at least 20 feet into the nearby oak tree — which means I don’t really readily see it unless I crane my neck up.
I’m glad that at least the Crossvine has decided to stick around and bloom for me.
Even if this is all I can see of the elusive Wisteria!

By Diana C. Kirby|2016-09-14T17:05:47-05:00March 25th, 2011|Blog, cross vine, fence, Sharing Nature's Garden, vine, wisteria|0 Comments

Oh, baby …

If you look closely, you can see snippets of fluff, rabbit fur and soft downy bird feathers lining this little … bunny nest. Filled with sweet, little cottontails.

Sigh.

And here you see what’s in the direct line of sight of the baby bunnies and their Momma. Sigh.

It’s about a 20 foot hop to my garden.

My garden with the large gap under the gate.

My garden with the huge fencing squares that a raccoon would fit through. (Remember, I built it to keep out DOGS, not bunnies, since at that time, I had no bunnies, just tomato-eating dogs.)

Now I have bunnies.

So, tomorrow’s post will likely be about the misery of working with chicken wire!

By Diana C. Kirby|2016-04-14T02:45:14-05:00April 21st, 2008|baby bunnies, Blog, fence, rabbits, Sharing Nature's Garden, vegetable garden|6 Comments

Bloom Day…sort of!

Carol at May Dreams Gardens invites us to share what’s blooming in our gardens on the 15th of the month and bloggers around the world join in this sense of community to appreciate each others’ work and species and climate.

There are just a few things blooming in my garden on this Bloom Day. This geranium is just the most delicious color of salmon that I had to have it. It’s another of today’s nursery purchases, along with a statue and a Japanese maple (no blooms there – just sticks!)

These little phlox love the cooler weather. (I can barely keep them alive in the heat of August), so they’re happy now.
Even in our temperate Texas climate, most things in my garden are starting to sprout up, but haven’t sported buds or blooms yet.
Here is my partially completed fence! We still need to put a gate on and then I’ll put an arbor in front of the gate.

While they were hammering away, I was fantasizing about little brackets for hanging plants and garden decor, finials for the tops of the posts, and other decorative touches! I guess a fence isn’t just a fence to me.
And this is my new-found friend. I fell in love with her while doing some Spring Fling business at a fabulous local nursery, the Great Outdoors, (they have a Blog, too) and just couldn’t walk away from her. She’s intruiging, and I knew I had the perfect focal point spot for her at the end of a river rock pathway. So, she’s mine, now. I want to name her; still mulling over options — something classic, yet unimposing, warm and inviting — any suggestions for naming my new garden friend?

By Diana C. Kirby|2017-11-29T23:27:56-06:00February 14th, 2008|Blog, fence, Sharing Nature's Garden, statue, vegetable garden|0 Comments

fence

Garden Bloggers Fling cottage-style garden of Casa Mariposa

Wildflower Center Gardens on Tour 2011 — A Hill Country Paradise

Searching for garden delights…

Oh, baby …

Bloom Day…sort of!

Escape in the garden